Eggborough power station

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Part of the Global Gas Plant Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor and Center for Media and Democracy project.

Eggborough Power Station was a 2,000-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire, England.

The station closed in September 2018, but there are plans to replace it with a 2,500 MW gas power plant.[1]

Location

The power station is situated on the River Aire, between the towns of Knottingley and Snaith. It derives its name from the nearby village of Eggborough.

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Background

The 4 x 500 MW subcritical coal plant was commissioned in 1967.[2]

The station was built for, and initially operated by, the British Central Electricity Generating Board. The station became the property of the UK energy company National Power following the privatization of the UK electricity market in 1990. In 2000 the UK's largest electricity generation company British Energy bought Eggborough Power Station, its only coal-fired power station to reduce penalty charge risks from the New Electricity Trading Arrangements introduced in March 2001. The purchase of Eggborough occurred at the peak of the market for power stations, and in 2002 the value of the station was written down by half.[3]

At the beginning of 2009, Électricité de France (EDF) purchased British Energy. In August 2009, it became apparent that the station's lenders had the option to buy the station the following April, to comply with commitments made to the European Commission when agreeing the acquisition of British Energy.[4] On 1 April 2010, EDF transferred Eggborough to the plant's bondholders.[5]

In November 2014 it was announced that Energeticky A Prumyslovy Holding (EPH) of the Czech Republic will acquire the Eggborough Power Station.[6] The transaction was completed in January 2015.[7]

Retirement and new gas plant

In September 2015 Eggborough Power said it would close the 53-year old power station by the end of March 2016, as it is too costly to continue running.[8] In March 2016 the Guardian reported that the coal-fired power station had recently retired.[9]

However, in February 2016 it was announced that the plant would continue to operate for at least another twelve months through to March 2017.[10][11][12] In 2017 it was reported Eggborough Power Station will generate power for the National Grid under the Supplementary Balance Reserve contracts through September 30, 2018.[13][14][15]

In August 2016 EPH proposed to develop a new Eggborough Gas-Fired Power Station on the site of its existing coal-fired power station. The new power station will be a 2,500 MW combined cycle plant. Outline plans for the new development, which should be completed by 2022, involve demolishing the coal fired site and building a new gas connection.[13][16]

In February 2018 it was announced the plant will close by end-2018 after it failed to secure government subsidies to provide back-up electricity in the winter.[17]

The station closed in September 2018, but there are plans to replace it with a 2.5 GW gas power plant.[18]

Project Details of Gas-Fired Units

  • Sponsor: Eggborough Power Ltd.
  • Parent company: Energeticky A Prumyslovy Hold
  • Location: Eggborough, Selby, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom
  • Coordinates: 53.712457,-1.126832 (exact)
  • Gross capacity (proposed): 2,500 MW
    • Combined-cycle units 1-3: 2,200 MW (2022)
    • Gas turbine: 299 MW (2022)

Articles and Resources

Sources

  1. New gas-fired energy plant planned. BBC News (20 September 2018). Retrieved on 24 September 2018.
  2. Department of Energy and Climate Change, "Power stations in the United Kingdom, May 2012", Department of Energy and Climate Change, May 2012. (This link is to an Excel spreadsheet).
  3. Risk Management: The Nuclear Liabilities of British Energy plc (PDF) 24. National Audit Office (6 February 2004). Retrieved on 13 June 2008.
  4. Freke, Tom (27 August 2009). Hedge funds to buy EDF's Eggborough power plant. reuters.com. Retrieved on 22 February 2011.
  5. Airlie, Catherine (1 April 2010). "EDF Transfers Eggborough Plant to Bondholders After Buying British Energy", Bloomberg. Retrieved on 7 July 2010. 
  6. Žižka, Jan (4 November 2014). "Křetínský koupil elektrárnu v Británii. Má výkon jako Temelín" (in Czech), lidovky.cz. Retrieved on 5 November 2014. 
  7. "EPH: EPH has completed the transaction for the purchase of Eggborough," EP Power Europe, 1.7.2015
  8. "UK's coal-fired Eggborough power plant may close in March 2016," Reuters, Sep 2, 2015
  9. "Rapid decline of coal use leads to drop in UK emissions," Guardian, Mar 31, 2016
  10. UK's coal-fired Eggborough power plant may close in March 2016. Reuters (2 September 2015). Retrieved on 2 September 2015.
  11. Eggborough set to close in March 2016. utilityweek.co.uk (2 September 2015). Retrieved on 2 September 2015.
  12. Reprieve for threatened Eggborough Power Station. BBC News. Retrieved on 11 March 2016.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "News," Eggborough Power website, accessed Sep 2017
  14. "Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR) Operational Information," National Grid, accessed Sep 2017
  15. "Remit Data," Eggborough Power website, accessed Sep 2017
  16. "Eggborough CCGT," National Infrastructure Planning, accessed Sep 2017
  17. "Yorkshire power plant to close as coal’s decline continues," FT, Feb 2, 2018
  18. New gas-fired energy plant planned. BBC News (20 September 2018). Retrieved on 24 September 2018.

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